This week in celebrity real estate, it's all about the people whose names start with "B." Billy Joel listed his house for sale in Miami. Bristol Palin sold her house in Maricopa, Ariz. And a home that Babe Ruth once owned near Boston is on the market.
Billy Joel moving out of his Miami manse
He my hail from Long Island, where he crooned about hometown steadies Brenda and Eddie, but Billy Joel took his love of the beachy life all the way to the top -- or to the bottom -- of the continental U.S. with his waterfront home in the Miami Beach real estate market.
With a tip of the hat to The Real Estalker, we have come to learn the Piano Man is now seeking to divest himself of the 9,200-square-foot mansion he bought in 2006 for $13.5 million in cash. Joel is asking $14.75 million.
The 7-bedroom 8.5-bath Mediterranean waterfront estate at 82 Lagorce Circle is located on the exclusive La Gorce Island. Word is that winters are when he ran to this haven, which boasts expansive areas indoors and out that have breathtaking views of the Biscayne Bay.
According to listing notes, the home also has a "luxurious bar with wine cellar, gourmet chef's kitchen, formal living and dining room, office and sumptuous master suite all of which showcase the finest details and finishes. (It's the) perfect home for entertaining with outdoor summer kitchen. (It has) over 150 feet of water frontage."
See more photos of Billy Joel's home on Zillow.
Home where Babe Ruth lived was a farm -- and it's for sale
Next to George Washington and Teddy Roosevelt, there may not be another iconic figure in the history of the United States who is said to have slept in more houses across America.
But Babe Ruth, the Sultan of Swat who barnstormed and vacationed in myriad locales from Maryland to Massachusetts to New York, runs a very close third.
Now, one of the homes that The Babe actually owned can be yours -- if you have $1.65 million and care to live in the bucolic Sudbury real estate market in Massachusetts, just a few miles west of Boston. The very city that was for decades "cursed" without a World Series win after the Red Sox traded the Herculean Ruth to the New York Yankees.
If there's any doubt about Ruth's connection to the Sudbury estate, just take note of its name: Home Plate Farm. The 5,124-square-foot home at 558 Dutton Road even contains a Babe Ruth memorabilia room on the third floor.
According to listing agent Scott Adamson of Coldwell Banker, Ruth lived in the home from 1922 through 1926, which places his ownership after Ruth's trade to the Bronx.
The five-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom Colonial is a picture of New England perfection, with renovations and a gourmet kitchen inside a neat exterior that exudes the charm of its 1800's origin, but refinished with modern systems and materials to make it turnkey ready.
See more photos of Babe Ruth's home on Zillow.
Bristol Palin's home in Maricopa sells
Bristol Palin might have gone "Dancing With the Stars," but now she's flipping houses like them, too.
According to inmaricopa.com, the daughter of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has sold her Phoenix-area property for $175,000 -- one she purchased in December 2010 for $172,000. That's not a ton of upside for a home that had been valued at $350,000 in the years before Palin bought it. But she has moved on.
In June 2011, Palin moved to Los Angeles and listed the Maricopa home for rent at $1,400 a month, so at least now she's out of the landlord business.
The five bedroom, 2.5-bathroom house is just a shade under 4,000 square feet and is situated in the Cobblestone Farms subdivision.
Palin's life in the limelight has quieted down ... somewhat. She penned her memoir, "Not Afraid of Life," which was released last year. Updates on her life can be found on "Bristol's Blog,'' where lately she has defended her mother as the vice presidential pick in 2008 and her thoughts on co-habitation.